On Nov. 22, in their very own cafeteria, the Lane math team participated in the City of Chicago Math League competition. The team, led by coaches Kyle Eck and Melanie Pierce, was awarded 1st place divisionally, and also earned several individual awards.

Alex Paez, senior, received 3rd place in Individual Accelerated Precalculus as well as 2nd place in Team Precalculus. Junior Johan Villanueva received 2nd place in Algebra 2.

“I’ve been competing in these Chicago math competitions for Lane since freshman year, but have been in this since 7th grade,” Villanueva said.

The contest is divided by category of math and level of advancement of that specific math. Each student takes a certain exam depending on their level of experience, education, and mastery. Competitors are given 50 minutes to complete 20 questions, and when the clock runs out, they are required to show only their final answer.

 “There is usually never multiple choice, but if there is, there is only one multiple choice problem on the whole test. Everyone starts at the same time and ends too. Scratch paper is given and no two rows of the same math are near each other, meaning a kid taking the algebra test can be sitting next to another kid taking the precalculus test. You must sit in the proper row to receive the proper test,” Villanueva said.

Following the individual written tests, the students compete in a “team test,” where they work together to solve 20 questions, and three tie-breaker problems.

Lane’s math team spends a lot of time preparing for the competitions. The team holds practices with their coaches, Mr. Eck and Ms. Pierce, on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

 “We group up based on our test and we work together to find the answers and learn new tricks to save time. [Our coaches] supervise and help with any questions we may have on the problems,” Paez said.

“They provide us a lot of help by giving us old exams and helping us with any questions. They do so much for us Tuesdays and Thursdays to help us understand how to do math in ways the classroom cannot,” Villaneuva said.

This was not the last competition to be hosted for the math team. The group continues to practice and study for their upcoming competitions, the next one to take place on Jan. 10.